Final Reflections of the Chairman
by J. HERMAN BUNCH, Jr., PT, M.Ed., Chairman
As I write my final chairman’s mes¬
sage, I am filled with mixed emotions -
sadness that my term is coming to an end
and happiness in knowing that the Board
will be in good hands and is headed in a
good direction. I feel honored to have
served the citizens of NC and licensees for
the past six years and humbled to have
been elected by my fellow Board members
to serve as Chair for the past five years. I
am proud of what we, the NC Board of
PT Examiners, have accomplished and,
with your indulgence, I would like to
reflect back on these past six years with a
little trip down memory lane.
The Board is only as strong as its
members and we have been fortunate
that Governor James B. Hunt, Jr. has
appointed hard working and dedicated
members to serve. They have gone
above and beyond the call of duty. For
example, in 1994, the Board appointed
a joint task force with the NCPTA to
address supervisory issues. The task
force spearheaded the development of
our reference book, Practice Under
Pressure (PUP) which is now in its
Fourth Edition and has become a
required textbook in several of the
North Carolina educational programs.
In addition, because it is posted on our
web page, it has earned praise from
other states which have used it as a
model to develop their own reference
book on supervision. In an effort to
continue the education process of
licensees about supervision issues, the
Board and NCPTA joined forces with
AHEC to do a “road show” across the
state on Supervision Issues. More than
500 participants from Greenville to
Wilmington to Asheville attended these
eight workshops.
In 1995, the Board again joined
forces with the NCPTA to address
whether physical therapists were legally
permitted to perform EMG. As a result
of the combined efforts of the NCBPTE
and the NCPTA, the NC Board of Med¬
ical Examiners concluded that, “physical
therapists can perform EMG and nerve
conduction studies and may make
physical therapy interpretations, but
not medical diagnoses based on the
results.” This ruling has been helpful
on a national level as other states have
undergone similar reviews.
Also, in 1995, the Board established
the Investigative Committee to address
a growing number of complaints.
As chairman of the Board, I have
served on the Investigative Committee
since its inception. This has been one of
the most difficult jobs of my career as we
sit in judgement of fellow licensees to
determine whether there is probable
cause that a Practice Act violation has
occurred. While serving on the Investiga¬
tive Committee, I have developed a
new appreciation for the fairness of our
process and for the work of our investiga¬
tor, Douglas Kearns. I would like to com¬
pliment my fellow Board members who
have made some very difficult decisions
in balancing what was required by law to
protect the public and what was fair to
the licensee. I continue to be concerned
about the number of violations that are
reported each year and hope that, as the
physical therapy external environment
improves, the number of violations will
decrease.
In 1996, a legend with the Board,
Constance W. Peake, PT, Executive
Secretary, retired. To recognize her
27 years of dedicated service to the
Board, an elegant, black-tie retirement
dinner was held in her honor at the
Siena Hotel in Chapel Hill, NC. Conny
was surrounded by more than 70
friends, colleagues, and current and for¬
mer Board members to help her cele¬
brate the auspicious occasion.
After careful consideration, the Board
voted to change the administrative
position of the Board from an Executive
Secretary to an Executive Director. After
establishing the job requirements and
conducting an extensive search, Ben F.
Massey, Jr., PT was hired as the first
Executive Director for the Board. Ben’s
love of the profession, his desire to
serve, and his dedication to the Board
were well established within the physical
therapy community and Ben was the
ideal choice.
Also in 1996, the North Carolina
Board was one of the first states to sign on
for Computer Based Testing (CBT). This
has proven to be the wave of the future
as all 50 states have now moved to CBT.
This allows candidates to take the exams
quicker and have their results returned
within a week; consequently, graduates are
licensed more expediently and the need
for temporary permits was eliminated.
In an effort to continue to improve the
service of the Board’s Office, in 1997 the
Board made numerous changes. New
computers were purchased and additional
staff was added. A toll free telephone
number was installed, email was con¬
nected, and our web page was launched.
In addition, Board and staff continue to
sponsor and attend educational programs
at the state and national level.
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